Online store launch checklist: 25 things to check before you go live

Before you launch, check five areas. First your products: photos, prices, stock and descriptions. Then payments, with a real test order paid online and one by COD. Then shipping and tax (rates, zones, GST on the invoice), your legal and trust pages (contact, returns, privacy, terms, grievance contact), and search basics such as page titles, a submitted sitemap and your own domain. After that, place a full test order from start to finish.

Products

1. Every product has at least four clear photos, and the main photo is the same shape as the others.
2. Titles say what the product is, in the words buyers use.
3. Descriptions are your own and answer the obvious questions: size, material, care, what is in the box.
4. Prices, sale prices and stock are correct. Out-of-stock items are hidden or marked.
5. Variants (sizes, colours) each have their own stock and, where needed, their own photo.
6. HSN codes and GST rates are set on each product.

Payments

1. Your payment gateway is connected with live keys, not test keys.
2. UPI, cards and net banking all work. Try each one with a small real payment.
3. COD is on or off as you intend, with any limits or fee you planned.
4. You have refunded one test payment, so you know how refunds work.

Shipping and tax

1. Shipping rates show correctly for an address in your city, one in your state and one in a far state.
2. Free-shipping thresholds work the way your site describes them.
3. The invoice shows your GSTIN, with CGST + SGST or IGST applied correctly for local and out-of-state orders.
4. Your courier account is ready and you know how to book a pickup.

Legal and trust pages

1. A contact page with a working phone number, email and business address.
2. A shipping policy: delivery areas, times and charges.
3. A return and refund policy: what, when, how and who pays.
4. A privacy policy and terms of service.
5. Grievance contact details, which the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 require from e-commerce sellers.

Search and sharing

1. Your own domain is connected and the store loads on https.
2. Home, category and product pages have proper page titles and meta descriptions.
3. Your sitemap is submitted in Google Search Console.
4. Your logo, favicon and social sharing image look right when you paste the link into WhatsApp.

The final test

1. On your phone, place a complete order as a new customer. Browse, add to cart, check out and pay, then make sure the confirmation email arrives and the order shows up in your admin.
2. Mark it shipped with a tracking number and check that the customer is told.

After launch: your first week

• Tell your existing customers and contacts first. Their orders and reviews build early trust.
• Answer every message quickly.
• Watch for abandoned carts and failed payments, and fix whatever caused them.
• Ask your first buyers for reviews.
• After a few days, check Google Search Console for indexing errors.

The most common launch mistakes

• Test payment keys left on. Orders look paid, but no money arrives. Always place one real payment after switching to live keys.
• Shipping set to zero by accident, so every order loses money on delivery.
• Broken links in the menu or footer. Click every one on your phone.
• Missing contact details. Buyers don't trust a store they cannot reach, and payment gateways may not approve it.
• Search engines blocked. Some stores stay hidden from Google because a "do not index" setting from the building phase was never removed. Check that your homepage can be indexed.
• Emails going to spam. Place a test order with a Gmail address and check where the confirmation lands.

Who should test your store

You know your store too well to see its problems. Ask two or three friends who have never seen it to buy something on their own phones while you watch without helping. Note every place they hesitate, scroll back or ask a question, and fix those things before you spend money on ads.

Plan your first month

Launching is only the start. Keep the first month simple: one announcement to your existing customers, a few posts on the social channels you already use, a weekly look at your analytics and Search Console, and one improvement each week based on what buyers actually did.

Printable summary

Area	Ready when
Products	Photos, titles, own descriptions, correct prices and stock, variants, HSN and GST set
Payments	Live keys, UPI, cards and net banking tested with real money, COD rules set, one refund tested
Shipping and tax	Rates checked for three distances, free-shipping rule works, invoice tax split correct, courier ready
Trust pages	Contact, shipping, returns and refunds, privacy, terms, grievance contact
Search and sharing	Own domain on https, page titles, sitemap submitted, link preview looks right
Final test	A full order placed, paid, shipped and tracked on a phone

Print it and tick each line. Keep it for the next time you add a big collection or change your payment or shipping setup, because the same checks apply then.

What to measure from day one

• Visitors and where they come from, so you know which channels deserve more effort.
• Conversion rate, which is orders divided by visits. A sudden drop usually means something broke.
• Average order value, which tells you whether bundles or free-shipping thresholds are working.
• Return and refusal rate, especially for COD.
• Repeat customers, the clearest sign that buyers liked what they received.

Launching with CartWhizz

A CartWhizz store comes with a free address on cartwhizz.com, and you can connect your own domain on every plan. You also get an automatic sitemap and robots.txt, GST-ready invoices with your GSTIN, and payments through gateways such as Razorpay, PayU, PhonePe and Paytm alongside cash on delivery. Start a free 7-day trial at cartwhizz.com/start. You don't need a card.

Frequently asked questions

What should I check before launching an online store?

Products, payments (with a real test order), shipping rates, GST on invoices, legal pages (contact, returns, privacy, terms, grievance contact) and basic SEO like page titles and a submitted sitemap.

Which legal pages does an online store in India need?

At minimum a contact page, shipping policy, return and refund policy, privacy policy, terms of service and grievance officer details. Ask a lawyer to review them.

Should I place a test order before launch?

Yes. Place a full order as a new customer on your phone, pay with a small real payment, and follow it through to shipping and refund.

Sources

Official sources, checked 16 October 2026:

• Department of Consumer Affairs
• Google Search Console